Self-adaptive triangular mesh generation framework for free-form single-layer reticulated shells based on virtual interaction forces

With the pursuit of architectural aesthetics and the development of computer-aided design, free-form single-layer reticulated shells (SLRSs) are becoming increasingly popular. Generating a uniform and fluent mesh on an arbitrary free-form surface is a challenging task. This paper presents an automatic, triangular mesh-generation framework for free-form SLRSs. An algorithm based on non-linear virtual interaction forces (VIFs) is adopted to automatically update joint coordinates. An innovative mesh-energy function is defined to adaptively adjust the number and distribution of joints according to the desired size. A simple yet effective connectivity optimization algorithm and a VIF-based mesh-smoothing method are also proposed to convert the unstructured mesh into a structured type. Distance-based priority-order and direction-determination criteria for the operations are defined to automate topology optimization. Case studies demonstrate that this framework is robust to different types of free-form SLRSs, initial joint densities, desired sizes, and edge-swapping criteria.